The present invention relates to improvements in bag handling apparatus for flexible plastic film bags, and more particularly to an apparatus for manually processing a bag chain with the chain having sprocket holes along the top and the mechanism having sprocket wheels supporting the chain, drawing the chain forward and means for opening individual bags for filling and for closing them.
Plastic bags made of thin plastic film with closures at the top have been developed and are available commercially in chains which permit individual bags to be cut or torn from the chains. Such bag chains are used with power driven machinery wherein they are opened, filled and individual bags removed from the chain and are also utilized in manually operated machinery wherein the operator can fill and remove a single bag or a plurality of bags to fill a current demand.
These bags utilize pressure closable elements at the top which have the general form of a rib at one side of the bag top with a groove at the other side and the rib and groove are interengageable and closable to seal the bag by the application of lateral pressure pressing the rib into the groove. Such closures are either attached to the bag or made integral therewith and can be inexpensively and conveniently made by being extruded integrally and monolithically with a plastic bag.
When a plurality of bags are joined in a chain for convenience of storage and handling, at the time the bags are to be utilized, optimumly the chain of bags is supported vertically and pulled fowardly usually incrementally one bag at a time with the bag being opened, filled and closed by pressing the rib and groove closure elements together. The bag when then filled is torn or cut from the bag chain.
Various means have been provided for drawing the bag forwardly and various means have been employed for supporting the bag chain vertically such as by providing supports beneath the bag or by providing the bag chain with projecting ribs along the top and with supporting guides that have grooves into which the ribs project to support the bags.
A feature of the present invention is to employ unique means for both supporting and advancing the bag by providing a series of holes or perforations along the bag top spaced to be engaged by the teeth of sprocket wheels. These sprocket wheels are driven to advance the bag chain and when the teeth are interengaged in the sprocket holes, the bag chain is vertically supported by the sprocket.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for supporting and advancing a bag chain utilizing a series of spaced sprocket holes along the tops of the bag chain with the sprocket holes coacting with sprockets for processing the chain.
A further object of the invention is to provide a new and unique apparatus and method for handling a bag chain moving it along a path, opening individual bags for filling and closing them and advancing the chain and cutting off a filled bag from the chain.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus particularly well adapted for utilization by individuals who will manually operate the mechanism and where the mechanism is capable of advancing a bag chain automatically opening and closing an individual bag so that one or only a few bags can be advanced and filled and removed from the chain and wherein the operation can be accomplished by a simple single manually operated drive.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent with the disclosure of the preferred embodiments thereof in the specification, claims and drawings, in which: